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Accurate Nas Lyrics
Accurate Nas lyrics for research, informative, and entertainment purposes.
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Nas is the elder of Olu Dara and Ann Jones' two children. His younger brother, Jabari (nicknamed "Jungle" because he was born in the jungle city of Puntarenas, Costa Rica), would later become part of the hip hop group The Bravehearts. The family lived for a time in Brooklyn, before moving to the large Queens public housing project of Queensbridge. Olu Dara eventually left the household, and Ann Jones raised Nas on her own. Nas dropped out of school after the eighth grade and began selling drugs on the streets of New York while educating himself, reading about African culture and civilization, the Qur'an, the Bible and the Five Percent Nation.
In 1991, Nas made his on-record debut with a verse on Main Source's song "Live at the Barbeque." Hailed as the second coming of Rakim, his rhyming skills attracted a significant amount of attention within the hip-hop community, and he was soon approached by MC Serch (of 3rd Bass). Nas recorded the song "Halftime" for Serch's Zebrahead soundtrack.
With Serch as his manager, Nas signed to Columbia Records in 1992. For two years, rumors flew about Nas' future as he worked on his debut album. Many were concerned that Columbia, being a major label, would try to dilute his New York based style. In 1994, the debut album, Illmatic was finally released. Featuring production from Large Professor, Pete Rock, Q-Tip (of A Tribe Called Quest) and DJ Premier, as well as guest appearances from Nas' friend AZ and his father Olu Dara on the song "Life's a Bitch", Illmatic was immediately hailed as a masterpiece by critics, and is still highly regarded as one of the definitive hip-hop albums of all time. Standout songs on the album included "NY State of Mind" (produced by Premier), "The World Is Yours" (produced by Pete Rock), "One Love" (produced by Q-Tip) and "It Ain't Hard To Tell" (produced by Large Professor), which featured a sample of Michael Jackson's hit song "Human Nature." Sales-wise however, possibly due to extensive bootlegging, the record sales fell below expectations, and Nas ended up trading manager MC Serch for Steve Stoute in preparation for his second LP, It Was Written.
The rest is history. Ever since the release of "It Was Written" Nas became not only a staple in hip-hop, but a well known rapper in popular culture. Though some consider Nas went "mainstream" or "sold out" ever since Illmatic, the truth is ever since hip hop became a pop culture commodity, Nas has only barely been keeping up with the times in terms of materialism and has continued dropping awe-inspiring jewels from record to record.
Furthermore, as of 2007 Nas seems to be once again dabbling in an unconventional "back to the basics" approach to hip hop. Though admirable, however, this Nas still falls short when it comes to providing any answers to what is killing (or has killed?) hip hop.
Because of his solid MCing abilities and the depth and poetic nature of some of his stronger lyrics, Nas will remain well-respected in the rap game and continues to receive love from both the mainstream public as well as the underground.
Below are accurate Nas lyrics to some of his most requested songs. If you have any requests for accurate lyrics to a Nas song please feel free to email
Lyrics @ Thestateofhiphop.com.
-Nas
NY State of Mind
Nas - It Was Written (1996)
Nas - Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, & Nature Present The Firm: The Album (1997)
Nas - I Am... (1999)
Ghetto Prisoners
Hate Me Now
Nas - Nastradamus (1999)
Nas - Stillmatic (2001)
Ether
Got Ur Self A...
One Mic
Nas - The Lost Tapes (2002)
Doo Rags
Nas - God's Son (2002)
Made You Look
Nas - Street's Disciple (2004) [Disc 1]
Nas - Street's Disciple (2004) [Disc 2]
Bridging The Gap
Nas - Hip Hop is Dead (2006)
Black Republican
Hip Hop Is Dead
Nas - Untitled (2008)
Surviving the Times
Hero
Nas - Miscellaneous
Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It (Remix w/ Ice Cube & Scarface)
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